When RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat met with Muslim intellectuals to discuss religious harmony, many eyebrows were raised in India.
Things have been very choppy communally in India over the past eight years under the rule of the BJP with new laws imposed such as the beef ban, cow vigilantes lynching Muslims, and the horrific murder of Tabrez Ansari which opened the eyes of India to a new kind of Hindu-Muslim polarization spreading across the country, hijab ban where the controversy poured out on the streets and with gaps widening. Thus, it came as a surprise to all when RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat went to meet Muslim intellectuals to discuss religious harmony.
On Thursday, Mohan Bhagwat went to a mosque on Kasturba Gandhi Marg and then visited Madarsa Tajweedul Quran in Azadpur. Interestingly, this was the first time he visited a madrassa. A Sangh functionary said that during the madrasa visit, he interacted with children who recited the Quran and raised slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Hind’. During his interaction, he explained to them that all religions must be respected.
All India Imam Organisation chief Umer Ahmed Ilyasi described Mohan Bhagwat as ‘Rashtra pita’ to which Bhagwat objected and said there is only one father of the nation and said everyone is ‘Bharat ki santan’ (child of the nation).
Earlier, Mohan Bhagwat met Muslim intellectuals, including Delhi’s former lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung, former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi, former Aligarh Muslim University vice chancellor Zameer Uddin Shah, former MP Shahid Siddiqui as well as businessman Saeed Shervani. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said those who meet Mohan Bhagwat are elite Muslims and have nothing to do with the ground reality.
Basically, Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday met with many Muslim intellectuals including Chief Imam, Dr Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi. As per sources close to RSS, issues like the Hijab controversy, Gyanvapi, and maintenance of peace and harmony among religions were discussed in the meeting.
Other than Bhagwat, senior RSS members including Dr Krishna Gopal, Indresh Kumar, Ramlal and Karish Kumar also participated in today’s meeting. Sunil Ambekar, the Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of RSS told that the meeting was a part of the ‘Samvad’ process. “RSS Sarsanghachalak meets people from all walks of life. It’s the part of a continuous general “Samvad” process,” Ambekar said.
Hindu and Muslim Battles Were Erupting Over the Last Few Years
The controversy over Hijab erupted from Karnataka college and is currently being heard in Supreme Court. It also came up in the findings of intelligence agencies that PFI was behind triggering the controversy.
After the controversy erupted regarding Gyanvapi also, the RSS Chief met with Muslim intellectuals and academicians. Earlier on Tuesday, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat met with many Muslim intellectuals and discussed recent controversies and ways to strengthen religious inclusivity in the country. As per the sources close to RSS, the meeting was held for propagating the ideas of Sangh and for promoting the theme of religious inclusivity. Recent incidents like the Gyanvapi controversy, the Hijab controversy, and population control were discussed in the meeting.
The meeting was attended by many intellectuals like former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S Y Qureshi, former Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung, former Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Lieutenant General Zameer Uddin Shah, former MP Shahid Siddiqui, and businessman Saeed Shervani. Earlier, during the time of Ram Mandir’s judgment as well, RSS had got active. The senior RSS members met with Muslim intellectuals and propagated the message that whatever order comes out, everybody will be accepting it peacefully.
What Could Be The Reasons for the Meeting?
Propagating The Concepts of the Sangh
As per the sources close to RSS, the meeting was held for propagating the ideas of Sangh and for promoting the theme of religious inclusivity. In the fierce antagonistic battles between Hindus and Muslims, perhaps the Sangh is seeking to calm things down, or they perhaps also want the Muslims to be more accepting of the changes that are going to be made according to the upcoming agendas such as the hijab ban and other such restrictions.
The Sangh Is Trying to Salvage Their Image
A 2017 report on April 11 Pew Research Center analysis of 198 countries ranked India as the fourth worst in the world for religious intolerance. In the country of 1.3 billion, the incidence of hostility related to religion trailed only Syria, Nigeria, and Iraq, all places where sectarian violence is widespread.
The violence in India has seen repercussions across the globe and in the past, while Indians abroad maintained good friendships, the NRIs abroad are getting divided with name calling amid right and left wings. The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), the other face of the RSS is also getting clubbed with violent scenarios from the branches of the RSS.
The recent hijab issue grabbed international headlines and made the Sangh look extremely insensitive and cruel to Muslims. Could they now be fearing their image would be tarnished? However, would the RSS really care about the image of the HSS? Well, it does appear that the violent scenes of the RSS branches could be an embarrassment to the HSS abroad who while always broadcasting about “jihadi violence” would feel disconcerted that the world is watching very violent scenes from the RSS streams presently with arson, bulldozing and lynching.
In the Internet age, unlike in the past where riots were concealed or misleading information was spread around today, everything can be nailed and clubbed, today, Hindutva sources have been exposed for an agenda while saffronizing India aims to also crush voices of dissent. the RSS must be realizing an outreach to the Muslim leaders is imperative to cool the heat.
Did the Bharat Jodo Yatra Trigger this Meet?
When RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat met Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, chief Imam of All India Imam Organisation, on Thursday on Thursday in Delhi, the Congress said it was also a reaction to the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. It also said if these 15 days have been so impactful on him, he should join the Bharat Jodo Yatra, with a tricolor in hand.
“It has only been 15 days since the Bharat Jodo Yatra has started and a spokesperson of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party said ‘Godse Murdabad’, ministers have become concerned over the hatred spread through the media, and Bhagwat has reached out to imams,” Pawan Khera tweeted.
See what happens next,” the Congress leader tweeted. The meeting was part of the RSS’s ongoing outreach to different communities and faiths.
Also, Congress spokesperson Gourav Ballabh opened an invitation to Mohan Bhagwat to the Bharat Jodo Yatra and said that he should walk with Rahul Gandhi with the National Flag in his hand. “We request Bhagwatji that when a few days of the yatra have had such an impact on him, he should participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra for an hour, walk with Rahul Gandhiji with a tricolor in hand, raise the slogan of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai and unite India,” Gourav Ballabh said.
Conclusion
There may be many reasons for this meeting, and while the actual goal was said to be “religious harmony” as inside sources reveal, there may be many factors. Still, is the RSS finally realizing that communal hate politics for votes will never work in India and only succeed in crumbling the economy and also weakening global relations with India and Islamic nations where millions of Indians work? All communal intolerances boomerangs back and thus are they sincerely working for peace? Time will only tell.